KARNS CITY — It took the Karns City football team just three explosive plays to be, well, Karns City again.

Anthony Kamenski burst through a hole on the right side of the line for a 16-yard touchdown run. Just three minutes later, Erik Pfeifer hauled in a 14-yard scoring pass from Kamenski and a mere minute after that Hunter Jones wiggled and weaved his way on a 21-yard scoring jaunt.

Three touchdowns in four-plus minutes that turned a slim 14-7 Gremlin lead into a 36-7 advantage on the way to a 43-7 romp over visiting Kane at Diehl Stadium Friday night.

“That's what I'm used to at Karns City,” said senior Devin Ryan.

Karns City coach Joe Sherwin was just happy to see his Gremlins dominate after an up-and-down first half.

“That was probably the best second half we've played this year,” Sherwin said. “Hopefully that gives us momentum into next week. We were able to mix in the pass and that's what we have to do to be successful.”

Karns City (3-4) marched 54 yards for a touchdown on its first possession, capped by a 28-yard touchdown run by Ryan.

But the Gremlins sputtered a bit after that, muffing a punt and turning the ball over again on a fumble.

Kane was able to capitalize on one of the miscues with a 5-yard TD run by Ted Race that gave the Wolves a 7-6 lead midway through the second quarter.

Karns City, though, went into the half with a 14-7 lead thanks to a 14-yard touchdown reception by Ryan on a option pass by fullback Josh Wimer.

Ryan has been a perfect complement to Jones this season.

“We have to have that because we can't just have one guy carrying the ball and the defense keying on him,” Sherwin said. “We have to have many guys being able to carry the ball and Devin is definitely one guy who can do that. Devin had a big game tonight and he's had a big season so far. We have to be multidimensional.

Ryan himself has been that and more with four touchdowns rushing and two more receiving this season.

“It makes me happy they have faith in me to get the ball, especially with the kind of season Hunter is having,” Ryan said. “The line has been great and has been opening up holes.

“I had confidence that I would have a good season,” Ryan added.

Kane was playing without starting quarterback Zuke Smith, who suffered a concussion during practice this week.

Without the left-hander under center, Wolves coach Jim Hillman went with wingback Jake Alcorn in that role.

Alcorn rushed for a team-high 79 yards, but was just 3-of-12 passing for 11 yards and two interceptions.

“It was a freak thing,” Hillman said of the injury to Smith. “We were doing some drill and he got spun around and hit his head off a lineman's knee. He's in concussion protocol.

“(Alcorn) has just really started coming around a week or two ago. Originally he was a quarterback.”

The unexpected change took Sherwin and his staff by surprise.

“We were expecting a left-hand quarterback out there,” Sherwin said. “We knew (Alcorn) was a good runner and it took us a little while to get accustomed to the plays they were running.”

But when the Gremlins did adjust, Kane struggled.

“We need to play four quarters,” Hillman said. “We have to fight through adversity and be better at that.”

The Wolves could learn from Karns City, which after suffering through some adversity of its own during the first half of the season has won two games in a row in convincing — and in traditional Karns City — fashion.

“I believe we've gotten better and put that past behind us,” Sherwin said. “We've moved on. I'm happy with the way we've played the last two games.”

Kane 0 7 0 0 — 7

Karns City 6 8 22 7 — 43

First Quarter

KC — Devin Ryan 28 run (Run failed), 8:15

Second Quarter

K — Ted Race 5 run (Aaron Hottel kick), 7:26

KC — Ryan 14 pass from Josh Wimer (Hunter Jones run), 3:16

Third Quarter

KC — Anthony Kamenski 16 run (Steve O'Donnell kick), 9:59

KC — Erik Pfeifer 14 pass from Kamenski (O'Donnell kick), 6:17

KC — Hunter Jones 21 run (Kamenski run), 5:15

Fourth Quarter

KC — Mitchell Kelsea 2 run (O'Donnell kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing:Kane, Jake Alcorn 18-79, Aiden Hulings 16-52, Josh Buhl 6-26, Mason Metz 2-19, Ted Race 2-4, Harley Morris 1-4; Karns City, Hunter Jones 17-102, Devin Ryan 7-58, Hunter Rowe 3-21, Josh Wimer 2-17, Mitchell Kelsea 5-15, Anthony Kamenski 7-12

Passing:Kane, Jake Alcorn 3-12-11-2, Harley Morris 1-3-7-0; Karns City, Anthony Kamenski 5-11-51-0, Josh Wimer 1-1-14-0

Receiving:Kane, Kevin Scharba 1-8, Caleb Holt 1-7, Bobby Rumick 1-4, Aiden Hulings 1-(-1); Karns City, Madden McMillen 2-27, Devin Ryan 1-14, Erik Pfeifer 1-14, Hunter Rowe 1-10